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Organization or Community-Based Outbreak? Responding to Cases of Meningitis Under Epidemiologic Uncertainty

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2018

Tea Burmaz ,
Vittorio Selle ,
Vincenzo Baldo  and
Elena Savoia
Tea Burmaz*
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Local Health Unit 3 Serenissima, Venice, Italy
Vittorio Selle
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Local Health Unit 3 Serenissima, Venice, Italy
Vincenzo Baldo
Affiliation:
Hygiene and Public Health Unit, University of Padua, DSCTV, Padua, Italy
Elena Savoia
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics/Emergency Preparedness Evaluation Response Practice (EPREP) Program, Division of Policy Translation and Leadership Development, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Cambridge, Massachusetts
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Tea Burmaz, MD, MMCH, Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Local Health Unit 3 Serenissima, Piazzale San Lorenzo Giustiniani 11, Venice 30175, Italy (e-mail: [email protected])
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Abstract

Six cases of serogroup C invasive meningococcal disease were identified in Treviso district, Veneto region, Italy between December 13 and 15, 2007. The afflicted patients were found to have attended the same Latin-dance clubs on the same nights, and chemoprophylaxis was provided to potentially exposed individuals. Despite these efforts, 2 cases caused by the same meningococcal strain subsequently occurred in the same area, without any apparent epidemiological correlation to the initial cases. This may have resulted from a failure to neutralize the meningococcal carrier/s. The root cause analysis method applied to public health emergency preparedness was used to analyze the response to this critical incident. The root cause analysis revealed a need to develop regional guidelines for the classification and management of a meningococcal outbreak and for developing risk-communication strategies that include the identification of appropriate channels of communication for differing segments of the population. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:368–371)

Keywords

meningitisroot cause analysisrisk communicationepidemiological investigationemergency response
Type
Report from the Field
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , April 2019 , pp. 368 - 371
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2018 

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